FiftyThree, the company behind popular iPad sketching app Paper, has filed for a trademark on the term "Paper" following the announcement of Facebook's magazine-style news curation tool, also named Paper.

First discovered by TechCrunch, the trademark was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on January 30, the same day Facebook initially unveiled its new app. As noted by FiftyThree co-founder Georg Petschnigg in an open letter, FiftyThree was not given advanced notice of Facebook's plans and was taken by surprise by the app release.

Though FiftyThree previously filed for a trademark on the term "Paper by FiftyThree" it did not have a trademark for "Paper" at the time that Facebook created its app. According to two trademark lawyers that spoke to TechCrunch, while the trademark is newly filed, FiftyThree could have a case if it proceeds with a lawsuit as trademarks are partially use-based and it has been using the Paper app name since early 2012.

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Trademarks, to a degree, are use-based. This means that "just by using a mark in a particular field, you've got rights," said Cardona. "Some are state-based and some are federal-based, but if I start using a mark before you in the same area of goods or services, I've got rights to the mark over you."

It remains unclear whether FiftyThree will win the trademark, as paper is a term used by many other products, apps, and services that predate even its own app. FiftyThree has not said whether it will pursue legal action against Facebook, but Petschnigg says the company is "keeping its options open."

For now, FiftyThree has asked Facebook to "build a brand name of their own" and to stop "using our brand name."

I can sympathize with Paper's creator's emotionally, but "paper" is a generic single word, which applies well to both apps but in different ways: they are not competitors. And I don't in any way believe that Facebook felt the need to "use" 53's brand to boost awareness of their own efforts (if anything, the reverse will happen, benefitting 53).

If I were 53, I'd use this chance to build the more unique, and more useful (for future projects) brand: "53" itself. Push "Paper by 53" or even "Paper 53" or something. Or is if "FiftyThree?" See--they have more important branding fish to fry!

"Paper" alone was never great for branding or search/discoverability anyway. (And I don't think the app as listed was ever "paper" alone anyway, was it?)

So I say, make lemons from this lemonade, and boost awareness of a name people can search for! Leave the "generic word" problem to Facebook, and let multiple different apps use that word freely if they wish--as long as they're not pretending to BE one another, or "stealing" awareness intentionally.

(I do think filing a trademark might be smart regardless, to protect themselves in case Facebook ever comes after THEM.)

Facebook should have called their app Facebook Paper to prevent any misrepresentation on their part.

The thing that gets me about the app is that neither the name of the app nor the icon associated with it tell me that the app is associated with facebook. It's currently a featured app on the App Store and you can see that facebook is listed as the developer, but it just seems like really poor brand recognition to not have some new flagship or experiment such as this be clearly distinguishable as a facebook creation.

The thing that gets me about the app is that neither the name of the app nor the icon associated with it tell me that the app is associated with facebook. It's currently a featured app on the App Store and you can see that facebook is listed as the developer, but it just seems like really poor brand recognition to not have some new flagship or experiment such as this be clearly distinguishable as a facebook creation.

Yeah I agree. I was actually gonna say something about the abhorrent app icon.

If 53 was so concerned about the use of "Paper" in other apps, why didn't they go to the trouble of trying to trademark "Paper", oh, I don't know -- two years ago?!

It sure looks 53 is just trying to get money from Facebook. This is one of those rare instances where I hope Facebook is victorious.

Because it's not like Facebook being a giant as it is didn't just come out with an app of the same name completely overshadowing FiftyThree. Definitely it was a plot to make money from Facebook from the very beginning.

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Originally Posted by agffth

This makes me laugh because Facebook sues anyone that uses the word Face or Book in their name.